The San Diego Padres are officially in the market for a new manager after Bay Area native Bob Melvin departed for division-rival San Francisco on Wednesday.

The Padres have two internal candidates to potentially replace Melvin: bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor Mike Shildt.

They have been installed as the +500 and +600 favorites, respectively, by SportsBetting.ag to be named San Diego's next skipper. Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla, who joined the organization in 2022, is being offered at +800 by the book.

The Athletic reported that Flaherty, 37, has a strong relationship with general manager A.J. Preller, although the 55-year-old Shildt has MLB managerial experience from his time with the St. Louis Cardinals (2018-21).

If the Padres decide to look outside the organization, they could cast a very wide net.

The third-shortest odds belong to Houston manager Dusty Baker (+700), who is reportedly considering retirement after the Astros lost in the American League Championship Series. Whether the 74-year-old would stave off retirement to return to the National League West, where he spent the majority of his playing and managing years, is very uncertain.

Baker's bench coach, Joe Espada, interviewed for openings last offseason and is considered a candidate for multiple vacancies this year. That includes San Diego, where he is among the early favorites at +900.

PADRES NEXT MANAGER ODDS
Ryan Flaherty (+500)
Mike Shildt (+600)
Dusty Baker (+700)
Ruben Niebla (+800)
Joe Espada (+900)
Buck Showalter (+1000)
Craig Counsell (+1000)
A.J. Ellis (+1200)
Gabe Kapler (+1200)
Moises Alou (+1400)
Skip Schumaker (+1400)
Eric Chavez (+1600)
Luis Rojas (+1600)
Johnny Washington (+1800)
Will Venable (+1800)
Clayton McCullough (+2000)
Mark DeRosa (+2000)
Brad Ausmus (+2200)
Ron Washington (+2200)
Don Mattingly (+2500)
Phil Nevin (+2500)
Mark Prior (+2800)
Matt Williams (+2800)
A.J. Hinch (+3300)
Carlos Beltran (+3300)
Ryan Christenson (+3300)

Melvin initially was slated to return as skipper of the Padres in 2024 despite the team failing to meet high expectations this season.

There were reports of friction between Melvin and Preller late in the season.

Melvin posted a 171-153 record in two seasons with San Diego. The Padres went 89-73 in his first season and reached the NL Championship Series before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 20 seasons as a big-league manager, Melvin has a 1,517-1,425 record with the Seattle Mariners (2003-04), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005-09), Oakland Athletics (2011-21) and Padres. He has guided eight teams to the postseason.

--Field Level Media